Zelfportret 1995 nr. 49 1995

Here, Philip Akkerman made a self portrait, number 49 in a series, in 1995. The whole thing is rendered in pencil, which is interesting because it's such a direct medium, so raw. But then you see the hatching, all those tiny little lines building up the form, and it’s clear that this isn't just a quick sketch. It’s a real process. Look at the way the light catches the brow, how he’s used line to create texture, to suggest the folds of skin, the crinkles around the eye. You can almost feel the pressure of the pencil on the paper, the artist's hand moving back and forth. Then there’s this weird, almost classical sense of form, like a bust or a statue, which makes me think of someone like Alberto Giacometti. There's something similar in the way he’s using line to create depth and volume. But it’s also totally Akkerman, a kind of obsessive self-examination. It doesn’t give you answers, but it does give you a sense of someone really looking, really grappling with what it means to see, and to be seen.